Recently, two gang rapes took place â one in Delhi and the other in Rangamati. In the first case, a 23-year-old Delhi medical student was raped on a running bus on December 16 by six men and then was thrown off on the street.
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I have come across a number of Bengalis who raise the question, âHow justified is it to divide the people of the same country as indigenous and non-indigenous? If only you (i.e. Chakma, Tripura, Garo, Santal etc) are indigenous, then what are we?â
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When the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon arrived in Dhaka on an official visit, his second to Bangladesh, he must have missed Bangladesh Tourism Boardâs gallant advertisement âSmiling Indigenous Women of Bangladeshâ in its shiny bright billboard at the international airportâs general lobby. The news stories on his arrival Sunday evening obviously did not highlight...Read more »

Like many countries in the developing world, Bangladesh too faces mounting pressure on its natural resources, including its lands and forests against the backdrop of a booming population. This pressure affects all Bangladeshis, but its implications are especially acute for the Adivasi communities around the country.
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Once upon a time, the British called us âblacksâ, and then later the Pakistani Army called us âinferior race.â Time passes, it is 2011. As International Day of the Worldâs Indigenous Peoples approaches again this year, Bangladesh is stuck in a quicksand ditch trying to figure out âwhoâ the Adibashis or indigenous of our...Read more »

The status quo of the CHT crisis has become a âstickyâ matter for Bangladesh. The government, both under the ruling and the opposition parties, have taken a very similar approach of not recognising the indigenous people in the constitution.
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On 19 June 2011 a national English daily reported that our honourable State Minister for Environment and Forests, Dr Hasan Mahmud, is planning to introduce hippopotami, imported from Africa, into the Kaptai Lake area of Rangamati, in the semi-autonomous region of Chittagong Hill Tracts.
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